No. 10 Princeton field hockey (1–1 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) split its two opening games of the season over the weekend, defeating the Old Dominion Monarchs (1–3 overall, 0–0 Big East) 2–1 but falling to the No. 2 University of North Carolina Tar Heels (4–0 overall, 0–0 Atlantic Coast Conference) 3–2.
The Tigers, historically one of the top programs in the nation, were favored to win against unranked Old Dominion. Their early offensive dominance helped them secure the win.
Within the first five minutes of play, junior defender Ottilie Sykes put Princeton on the board off a corner, and senior midfielder Beth Yeager reversed the ball in for another Tiger goal. These two scoring plays, only 90 seconds apart, gave the Tigers momentum early.
As the final buzzer sounded, Princeton allowed only one Monarch goal, which occurred during the third quarter. On the day, the Orange and Black allowed just four shots on goal, all of which happened in the second half.
Even with the departure of star goalie Robyn Thompson ’24, the team is facing a competitive schedule. The Tigers face five more top-20 non-conference opponents — Syracuse, Rutgers, UConn, Maryland, and Penn State — before a matchup with top-ten rival Harvard.
“We’re one weekend into the season, and we’re playing with four newcomers, two new goalies, and some others who are in different roles,” Head Coach Carla Tagliente told The Daily Princetonian. “We’re still figuring out who we are, but I am very optimistic. We have a lot of challenges on our schedule, which is how we like it.”
After warming up with Old Dominion, the Tigers faced the No. 2 University of North Carolina Tar Heels in the marquee event of the weekend. Although the Tigers haven’t beaten the Tar Heels in more than ten years, about 1,500 fans were present to watch Princeton give it a go.
The crowd was feeding the players as the game started with a blistering pace. Princeton was able to get a corner with 12:44 remaining in the first quarter, reminiscent of the quick corner success they had against Old Dominion. Sykes couldn’t connect with this one, however.
UNC had a corner and other opportunities to capitalize in the circle during the first quarter, but they couldn’t finish either. By the end of the first, the game remained scoreless.
Less than three minutes into the second quarter, the Tigers drew another corner. This time, the ball was sent in to Yeager, who flicked it past the Tar Heel goalie to make it 1–0 Tigers.
The Tar Heels answered this play with only thirty seconds left in the half to tie up the game. Tar Heel defender Isabel Boere snuck an entry pass through the Tiger defense, and for UNC, it was simply about being in the right place at the right time. Forward Eliza Perrin played a pretty no-look shot past junior goalie Olivia Caponiti to tie the contest, 1–1.
In the third quarter, UNC capitalized on its momentum going into halftime. Defender Isabel Boere scored off of two corner plays, giving the Tar Heels a 3–1 lead. The Tigers didn’t give up, though. Junior midfielder Ella Cashman rang it in for Princeton off the assist from Yeager in a corner penalty with less than five minutes in the quarter.
“When we scored again, I was thinking that we had plenty of time left in the game and we were confident that we could score again,” Cashman told the ‘Prince.’ “We had some chances, but unfortunately, they were able to hang on.”
“It was a great game to be a part of, though, and the crowd was awesome,” she added.
The fourth quarter was scoreless, and the Tar Heels escaped with a 3–2 victory. Although the outcome wasn’t what the Tigers wanted, they expressed confidence in their performance.
“We [as a team] made some small changes tactically, but really for us the most important thing to focus on was improving from Game 1 to Game 2,” Tagliente explained. “I thought we did that. Obviously, not getting the win [against UNC] was tough, but I was happy with a lot of what we did today.”
Cashman agreed.
“We love that we have such a tough non-conference schedule,” she said. “It helps us immeasurably when we start to play games in the league and throughout the rest of the season.”
The Tigers are set to play against the No. 11 Syracuse Orange (4–0 overall, 0–0 ACC) at home on Friday and then against the No. 16 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2–2 overall, 0–0 Big Ten Conference) on the road in Piscataway on Sunday.
Emilia Reay is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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